Constellations
by WonkasChocolate
Summary: "They had stopped on a small island just off the coast of the coast of nowhere in particular..." A short one shot set post-AWE. J/E.


Constellations Title: Constellations

**Author: **WonkasChocolate

**Rating: **PG-13

**Pairing:** J/E

**Disclaimer:** Disney owns, not I.

**A/N:** A short one shot, set post-AWE. Much thanks to desiringme for the last minute beta and concrit. This was written as a gift for djarum99's birthday.

They had stopped on a small island just off the coast of the coast of nowhere in particular. "A small detour," Jack had said with a twinkle in his eye (she was sure she'd never seen a twinkle in his eye before) when she asked where they were. He pulled her ashore then, telling her of the sweet wild fruits that could be eaten straight from the tree and of the fresh water spring in the centre of the island. "Clearest water you'll ever look at, Lizzie. Can see straight to the bottom."

After a day of lazing in the shade of the palms, and feeling utterly ridiculous as Jack fed her sun ripened fruit he had picked earlier, the sun gave way to a warm, muggy night.

It reminded her of those rare nights in Port Royal, when James would stand on the balcony with her, tracing the constellations with his finger. "That there," he said pointing, "is Pegasus. And that's Lyra." He scanned the sky as he searched for another to point out to her, and his eyes alighted on it. "And that one, just there, is Cygnus, the swan." He had smiled at her then and she smiled back.

She could see Cygnus shining brightly now and wondered childishly if he had become one of the infinite stars dotting the dark sky.

"You alright, love? You look a bit distant."

She jumped and looked over her shoulder. Jack stood looking down at her, holding two bottles of madeira, one in each hand. "Oh, Jack. You startled me."

"Doesn't surprise me," he quipped, "with your head in the stars like that." He sat down on the sand beside her, leaning back against the trunk of a palm, and passed her one of the bottles. She accepted it wordlessly. Jack absentmindedly fingered the rim of the bottle he still held and cast her a curious glance. "And what, might I ask, is going through that pretty little head of yours?"

"Just a bit of nonsense, really," she said, gazing again at the stars.

"Care to expand on that?" Jack asked, uncorking his bottle of madeira and taking a drink.

Elizabeth turned her head to look at him. "No, you would think me a fool."

A corner of his mouth pulled into a dazzling, gold glinting half smile. "Come now, Lizzie. You should know by now there's nothing too nonsensical for Captain Jack Sparrow. Let's have it." He looped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer to him.

What little resolve she had on the matter was quickly dissolved by his gold-flecked smile and the comforting weight of his arm around her shoulders. "Oh, alright then," she said, "If you _insist_ upon knowing." He chuckled at that and she could feel the vibrato in his chest. "I was thinking about James," she admitted. "Back in Port Royal, when I was younger, he would show me the constellations." She paused, tracing Pegasus with her eyes. "I was looking at the stars tonight and wondered if he was up there…" She half expected him to laugh, but he didn't. "It's silly," she added as an afterthought.

He shrugged a shoulder and turned his gaze upward. "You may not be as far off as you think." Elizabeth could feel Jack's fingers drawing circles lightly on her arm. He was silent for a few moments then said softly, "You know, once long ago, there was a high god named Zeus, and he turned this gaggle of nereids into stars. Now, these nereids, the Hyades they called them, were beautiful, temptresses, really; a bit like you, Lizzie, making every man they laid eyes on fall in love with them…."

She listened as Jack weaved the tale of the Hyades, watching him wave the bottle of madeira in circles as he spoke. It was then, as he held her to him and they laughed together, she realised he felt like home to her. She had known it before, she supposed, but had never grasped what it meant.

As he finished his story, Elizabeth twisted in his arms and turned her chin up to look at him. "Thank you," she said quietly.

"No thanks are in order, Lizzie, love."

She had kissed him then, soft and slow, and she could feel his fingers dotting their own constellations against her shoulders, her back, her neck. When they broke apart, Jack leaned his forehead against hers, his eyes saying more than words could have. "Jack…"

He silenced her with a kiss that made fire erupt in her belly. She slipped her hands beneath his hair, and he lowered her to the ground, stars twinkling silently above their heads.


End file.
